Debt collection Switzerland is a complex matter. Switzerland consists of 26 cantons and cantonal cantons, each with their own and different legislation. This legislation is difficult for many creditors to understand. For Incasso Switzerland you can not achieve maximum results without a Swiss specialist debt collection. You are at the right address at the Collection Company. With our knowledge of the Swiss debt collection, we collect your unpaid claims.
Read here what you can do yourself and how we can also take full advantage of you in Switzerland.
The payment morale has fallen sharply in Switzerland lately. Every year around 2.9 million (!) Collection procedures are started in Switzerland.
In whatever canton your debtor is also located, our office offers rural collection Switzerland coverage. For example, it does not matter where your debtor actually is. The cantons are as follows:
Aargau (AG), Appenzell Ausserrhoden (AR), Appenzell Innerrhoden (AI), Basel-Landschaft (BL), Basel-Stadt (BS), Bern (BE), Friborg (FR), Geneva (GE), Glarus (GL)) , Graubünden (GR), Jura (JU), Lucerne (LU), Neuchatel (NE), Nidwalden (NW), Obwalden (OW), St Gallen (SG), Schaffhausen (SH), Schwyz (SZ), Solothurn ( SO), Thurgau (TG), Ticino (TI), Uri (UR), Valais (USA), Vaud (VD), Zug (ZG), and Zurich (ZH).
Our strong reputation when it comes to international debt collection, the knowledge of local customs, the cooperation with local professionals and our unyielding commitment as international direct debit managers ensure targeted results.
If you are in danger of falling behind with an unpaid claim, our specialist debt collection Switzerland will provide you with advice and action. In Switzerland it is mandatory to first start an extrajudicial collection procedure. We make the first contact with your debtor in a professional and business manner. In most cases we succeed in reaching a full payment after a telephone or written contact. If that does not work out, then the Swiss debt collection offers effective judicial options. Switzerland is known just like Germany: sound legal procedures. Creditors benefit from this.
With the Swiss payment order ( Zahlungsbefehl ), issued to the debtor by the competent court ( Betreibungsamt ), the debtor has 20 days to pay. Is your debtor not in agreement with your claim? In that case he must lodge an objection ( Rechtsvorschlag ) within 10 days of the issuance of the court order. The case then proceeds in the form of a (normal) bottom procedure and the creditor must prove his claim further with the aid of a so-called Provisaire Rechtsöffnungstitel.
No timely defense or no payment by your debtor? Then the Swiss lawyer’s debt collection asks for a declaration of enforceability, which can be seized by the bailiff. Think of seizure of items, such as household effects and cars and buildings, but on third parties, such as banking institutions. In Switzerland, the bailiff works in court, he is an official.
In this procedure, Swiss judicial collection starts with the drafting of an extended summons (with proof), which is served on your debtor. In complex cases or cases where the debtor has already filed a defense from the start, the Swiss lawyer’s collection starts a bottom procedure. This procedure is also started when the debtor raises a defense during the order for payment procedure as described above. After submitting the summons to the competent court (in the correct canton), the court schedules a first hearing. Agreements are made here about the continuation of the procedure, after which one or more written rounds are held. In the end, the judge will issue a final judgment based on the case and all evidence. A winning final award can also be confiscated again. With the Swiss debt collection, the Swiss specialist debt collection accompanies the attachment. So you do not have to worry about that.
Have you obtained an enforceable judgment? Then an effective option in Swiss judicial collection is to apply for bankruptcy. Please note that in Switzerland the costs for the application can not be recovered from your debtor. The purpose of the bankruptcy petition is to enforce payment, just as in the Netherlands. Usually your debtor still pays after his bankruptcy has been applied for. If he does not do this, then the request can be made: your debtor will go bankrupt.
The debtor’s assets are liquidated and distributed pro rata, taking into account privileges among the creditors. Unlike in the Netherlands, the submission of ‘verifiable documents’ or proof that your claim exists at the local court ( Konkursamt ) is possible 30 days after bankruptcy. The court is reasonably strict in accepting reported debts. If your debt is not accepted, you will hear it from the court with a statement ( Verlustschein ). We are of course also on this point.
Unlike in the Netherlands, your debtor may request a cooling-off period: a period in which the debts are not due and payable, determined by the court. This is called moratorium ( Nachlaßstundung or Sursis Concordataire). Such a cooling-off period can take 4 to 6 months, but can also be extended to 2 years. Your debtor is now working on a reorganization plan including balance sheets and statements about the administration. A payment plan must also be drawn up. The judge tests the plan. In general, the plan is accepted (and recorded) by the court if at least two-thirds of the creditors have agreed to the proposal (or a quarter of all creditors representing at least two-thirds of the debts). If the plan is accepted, the remainder will no longer be due and payable.
Because a creditor can be confronted with a moratorium during collection in Switzerland, we advise you to start immediately with an extrajudicial collection procedure in Switzerland.
Starting with a direct debit Switzerland is easy. It is not a problem if you do not have all the pieces. Send us what you do have. Our debt collection specialists are happy to help you with this.
We can help you with all civil claims on debtors in Switzerland. For example, think of:
Debt collection Switzerland? Free first call
Have you become curious about the possibilities? Then ask for a free first meeting with a specialist in the field of Swiss law. With our local collection Switzerland network, there is no need to remain unanswered.
